


All But Religious

by Tano



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Multi, Supernatural AU - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 14:06:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8105287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tano/pseuds/Tano
Summary: With every miracle there is a price tag, and with every price tag there are hidden fees. Even if you know what your asking for, even if you don't care, you'll be surprised regardless. Especially when dealing with death himself.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet Sunday morning when the abrupt slam of a door awoke Ava Ire. She could pretend to be surprised, but not really. She'd never gotten a full night's sleep since being sent to stay with her estranged aunt, Wrathia Bellarmina. While there were certainly loud creatures in the forest surrounding her aunt's home, it wasn't them keeping her awake at night. Usually it was Wrathia's doting boyfriend, Pedri. Whether he was testing the sound making capabilities of her aunt's old spring mattress or even testing how much sound he could get her aunt to make, he truly did ruin her already pitiful sleeping habits. Though she could admit Wrathia wasn't so innocent either in that regard. But for once, it wasn't the sound of their constant copulation that had caused her to awaken. It was Pedri, just not in the sense she was used to. There was scrawny teenage boy being dragged behind him, ankle in hand as he not so gently jerked him inside past the threshold.

"Pedri?" Wrathia called from the banister, leaning over the railing to get a better look as to what was going on. Immediately the somber man seemed to brighten upon hearing his lover's voice. A smile instantly graced his mouth, crooked teeth gleaming in the candle light as his unnerving red eyes met her.

 "My beloved, as much as I hate to bring work home with me, it would seem tonight I must ask for your assistance... It's been a long time since I've found someone capable of helping around here, and...” He pauses, swallowing behind dry lips.

“Although he certainly is not my first choice but...He is capable...” Pedri sighed, Wrathia quickly descending the steps to inspect what her lover had brought inside.

 Ava peered over the couch, noting the boy's appearance. Raven-like black hair and a bit of what appeared to be a beard lining his jaw.

"Hmm... Where'd you fetch him? i think I've seen the boy before.." Wrathia hummed, tapping her chin as she leaned against the back of the couch Ava was staring over. It was her turn to speak up.

"I knew him... I mean, know... He uh, goes to my school...” Ava quiet hops over the couch, landing with a soft thud beside the teenager's head. He stirs a little at the noise, his eyes creaking open just a tad. "His family is a part of the church."

Wrathia scrunches her nose. "Saint Titan?"

"No, the old one. The one on the other side of town, you know... The one with Arrow Woods behind it."

"Well at least that means Pedri gets to keep him. Had he been a part of that disgusting, rat-worshipping neo-religious wannabe catholic gang that started buying up half of the city, I would've smashed his pathetic greasy little head in." Wrathia lit her pipe, staring down at the boy like he was something her cat dragged in.

"What are we going to do with him...? Now that, he's uh... Dead...” Ava leaned down beside him, poking his cheek. He didn't seem able to move yet, seeing as he hadn't said anything. Would he even be able to find the words to match such a situation?

Surely Pedri had explained to him the context of their contract. Speaking of which, she was curious as to how it came to be.

"Is he going to be staying here?" Her aunt blew out a puff of smoke, purple streaks curling in the air as Pedri finally decided to respond.

"No. He requested to stay with his siblings, and... He'll live his life as is while working. The boy won't be needing sleep anymore anyhow."

"Oh.. So he'll be helping you at night?"

"Correction, he'll be doing my work at night. I'll have the day shift."

Made sense. Pedri was the only person who even liked mornings in this household. Although technically, he wasn't even a part of it. He simply spent most of his time here despite having an apartment of his own. No one seemed to like Pedri much other than Wrathia, which wasn't surprising seeing as she was the town witch, and he the town mortician. Of course, he was also the guy who collected souls and sent them to the afterlife. Not that the town knew that part. Just that he was the guy who poked at dead bodies before their funerals and he hung out with the most infamous heretic in town. As a result, Ava was automatically filed into their outcast branding.

"So um... How...”

"He was trying to resurrect his dead sister. She'd only been dead for a few minutes, but he seemed he'd had been planning ahead. He was prepared, but of course, he's no reaper."  
"So he... It backfired, didn't it?" Ava's words came out gently, accompanied by a sigh. That never ended well.

"Horribly. Got sliced to bits. I was speaking to his decapitated head for a while before he agreed."

"How did you get him to agree?" His girlfriend inhaled softly, relaxing as the contents of the pipe took effect.

"I resurrected his sister in return for his work."

Odin Arrow would never be able to pay off that debt. At least, not in his lifetime as a human.

"Honestly, you're growing a bit soft Pedri...” Wrathia wrapped her arms around Pedri's waist, nuzzling into his side. He instantly leaned into her touch, once again his grim expression melting away.

"And who's fault is that.." He murmured, carelessly tossing his reaper's mask at Ava. She caught it, but only out of habit. Pedri always seemed to assume Ava had a free hand.

His arm slipping around his lover, the two were already guiding one another towards the stairs. Just where they were going was something Ava didn't care to think about.

"Oh, and take care of the boy, won't you..?" Her aunt called as she tugged Pedri eagerly, only bothering to glance back at Ava once for confirmation.

Only fifteen minutes or so had passed since Pedri had brought him and the deceased teen, and suddenly there were only two in the parlor. No one but Ava and the dead boy. Quietly, she asked him a question.

"Was it worth it?"

"Yes."


	2. Backwards Birthday

The first thing Odin thought of when he woke up the next morning was not the fact that he had died the night prior. Nor to check on his sister, who had been resurrected on the same night. Not even that he had agreed to a contract of some sort with the town mortician. No, it was simply that he needed to go rouse his twin sisters for school and ask for the truck keys from Olai. That was all. It was nothing too dramatic. In fact, he didn't think of it at all. Even when Magpie came down for breakfast for the first time in two years, he only smiled and passed her the pancake syrup. It had been a long time since he had felt so calm without a cigarette in his mouth, and a long time coming since all five of the Arrow children had sat down at the breakfast table together. In a way, it felt like Christmas morning. Of course, that would make the dark blond headed girl standing at the end of their driveway at seven-fifteen a.m.  his present. She was shivering slightly in the cold, and her breath appeared like smoke from her mouth. A little too much like smoke, actually. It was a shade too dark to be considered just frozen water vapor. Odin Arrow put down his fork.

"O-Olai, c-can you d-drive t-t-the t-twins to s-school today?"

"Why? So you can stay home with Magpie?"

"Y-yes. S-she h-has an a-appointment t-today."

Admittedly he'd called the hospital at six a.m. this morning just to ask them to re-schedule her check up for today instead the upcoming weekend. He refused to think about it in detail, but he wanted to know if what the reaper said was true. If she really had been revived to a near perfect state. That every year that had been shaved off from his own timeline had been added to hers. It was a little too good to true.

"Hey Odin, who's the weirdo outside?" Olai sipped at his coffee tentatively as his eyes focused on the girl hiding behind a tree to avoid having to greet the mail man.

"... S-She's f-from s-school."

"Ooohh, the virgin nerd-lord is trying to vanquish his virginity?" Crow cooed at her brother teasingly as she dropped her plate into the sink, Raven nodding seriously as she tossed her Twin her book bag.

"..... W-w-w-we're w-working o-on a pro-j-ject together."

"Suuurreee. You're probably lying about Magpie's appointment. You're just gonna stay home with your new girlfriend, who-" Crow leaned over the kitchen sink, staring out of the same window Olai was looking from.

"Looks like she's from the fifth grade. That's some taste you got there, nerd-lord."

"... Y-you're going to b-be late -i-if you g-guys don't get g-going now." Odin pointed to the clock, sighing as he pressed his fork back into his pancakes. He looked up to realize Magpie was staring at him, her eyes reflecting something he found hard to recognize. It seemed familiar, but he'd never seen it in the innocent eyes of his quietest sister before.

Once their siblings had left, and Magpie had finished two syrup drenched pancakes, Odin spoke up.

"R-ready to go, B--Birdpie-?" Birdpie was a nicname he'd used on her since they were kids, and he still called her that often. Although he used it mostly to get rid of tension in the room. An instant reminder of kinder times.

"....Odin... What did you do?"  
"I-I d-don't know w-what y-you m-mean, B-birdy." He smiles nervously.

".... You know exactly what I mean, Odin. I'd watch Death creep into my room for the last year. Sometimes I'd even talk to him." She paused, stirring the crumbs and syrup left on her plate with her fork.

"I was dead. I died. I am dead. I don't know." The frail-looking girl stared up at him with eyes full of the unknown emotion, the one he could not find in his memory.

"And now I sit across from my brother, who's soaking the floor with blood right now. I could taste the blood in the food, Odin." His sister is trembling now, staring at him with eyes wider than before.

"What did you do, Odin? What. Did. You. Do. ?"

"W-what I-I had to do, M-magpie."

The doorbell suddenly rang rather loudly, saving Odin from the conversation that seemed to be draining the life from him.

"I-I better g-go get that, h-huh." He stood up eagerly, walking to the door as if there were teeth nipping at his heels. Wrapping one hand around the knob, he glanced through the peek hole only to see Ava Ire staring right back at him. Or at least, her eye was. It was pressed up against the other side. Seeing his eye meet hers, she immediately fell backwards into the snow in shock. It was funny, the girl who lived with a witch being so easily startled. He opened the door, smiling at her weirdly. There wasn't much else he could think of to do, honestly.

"Y-you're h-here t-to talk t-t-to me, a-aren't you?"

She nods hesitantly from her place in the snow, and he offers her his hand. She doesn't take it.

"W-we c-can talk o-on t-the w-way t-t-t-to the h-hospital."

"... You know the doctors aren't going to find anything wrong with you." The blond is expressionless as she speaks.

"H-ha. B-but this v-visit i-isn't f-for me, i-it's for my s-sister."

"... The one that-?"

"Y-yes." He fidgets almost nervously.

"... Is behind you."

In a moment of weakness, Odin Arrow falls near directly on top of Ava Ire, slipping on a patch of ice located on the step in front of the door. Probably the same one that had caused Ava to fall backwards.

Magpie stands in the doorway, covering her mouth in a slight smile as her brother immediately removes himself from their guest. Their faces had been inches away from one another, or at least from what she saw.

Odin's face was rather flushed for simply falling on top of her, and Ava's face... Well, it was glowing. You could also say her blush reached the roots of her hair, mostly because it was turning bright red, covering the blond like blood seeping through a wedding gown.

"... She's not your project partner, is she?" His younger sister looked at the two suspiciously from her place just inside the door.

"N-not r-really."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry if this chapter has any grammar mistakes because I'm posting this as quickly as I can. I wanted to update before I have to do a bunch of school stuff until the twentieth. I mean, that's only a thirteen day absence, but I planed to update this weekly, so.  
> Yeah!!  
> I also wanted to let you guys know my updates are pretty short because I generally write everything in one sitting. Mostly because I'm impatient af.


	3. Burning Roadkill

Wedged between Magpie and the car door, Ava ire stared out out the frost tinted window of Olai's old Chevy. The cold was uncomfortable for her, even unbearable at times. But the odd kindness it provided her was one she refused to avoid. Gently, leaned her head against the cool glass, glancing back to Odin, who had his eyes on the road.

"I-It snowed late last n-night, d-didn't it?"

"Yeah. Around the time I had to drag your ass home."

Magpie, pushing a few strands of glossy black hair behind an ear, shifted uncomfortably at Ava's reply, another confirmation of her suspicions. Perhaps that was why she heard the town heretic’s name mentioned in pieces of their conversation.

"... What happened?" She scrunched her brows together, fiddling with the ends of her lavender dress. Whatever had conspired the other night, she wanted to know.

"N-nothing y-you n-need to hear a-about."

Ignoring his words, she turned her head towards her brother’s apparent project partner. The messy headed girl rubbed at her eyes for a moment, not sure what to make of the color changing girl. Whatever had caused the red in her hair seemed to have ended, seeing as the remarkable crimson had faded to a dishwater blonde. Her brother's friend seemed completely human at the moment, just some young girl hitching a ride with the Arrows.

"What's your name?"

"Ava..." She paused before continuing with her last, seeming to think for a moment. "Ire. Ava Ire."

Ava offered a petite, but friendly smile to the girl beside her. Magpie couldn’t help but notice how she kept her mouth closed when she did. Most likely hiding the hints of fangs she’d caught sight of whenever the small girl spoke.

"You're Magpie, right? Odin's sister."

She nodded in return. "Yup, that's me."

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm supposed to be in the tenth grade, but... I got held back a few years being sick and all. And-"

"Odin's a senior. They put him back a few grades cuz' they didn't approve of our parents' home schooling."

It made sense, although Ava wasn't sure when he had actually joined their classes. Sometime in freshman year; she was pretty sure of it. She'd never seen him more than a few times. Between the rush of morning classes and avoiding bullies, Ava hardly saw much of anyone she wasn’t looking for. Plus, he didn't associate with her group at all. It was only her, Tuls and Gil in that group anyway. She and Gil had been friends since the first grade and the only other person she'd known longer was Maggie. That wasn’t mentioning the recent drama with Titan. She'd been far too busy with Wrathia to hang out with her much. She made a mental note to try and schedule some time with her. Maggie was the last person she needed to neglect.

"I was wondering about that..."

Odin seemed to be listening to the conversation—albeit silently, focusing mostly on the road in front of them.

Ava found herself to be quite thankful for his diligence. Especially when some kind of large dog ran across the road, huge paws scraping and gliding across patches of ice. It was far too large to be a dog, and the phoenix instantly felt her talons sink into the leather interior of Olai's truck.

It definitely wasn't a dog.

The truck skidded across the ice for a few feet, the sound of tires being put to work being none too pleasant. Odin’s arm had immediately darted in front of Magpie, as if to catch her before her seatbelt could. Thankfully, the road ahead of them happened to be an empty intersection, and his caution was left unneeded.

"Magpie, w-was that C-Crow?" His mouth was set into an agitated frown. His question seemed to be answered when yet another darkly colored large canine ran across the street after the previous one, its fur just slightly less spiked than the last. A ribbon was tied on to a patch of its fur.

"A-are t-they serious? T-this is t-the third t-time this month--"

"She's probably off to see Merida."

"M-Merida? D-don't they go t-to the same s-school together?"

"They used to. Merida transferred to Saint Titan's Academy a few weeks ago."

He blinked, his already present frown deepening slightly. "W-well t-that doesn't e-excuse skipping s-school to run wild."

"Are we going to go after them?"

"I-I'll t-text Olai a-about it, w-we can't miss your a-appointment."

"Alright..."

Meanwhile, Ava was staring at them. Judging by her expression, she was neither surprised nor amused by their spectacle.

"... So uh, you didn't feel like mentioning this to me?"

"R-relax. I-it's not like I-I can turn into one."

"Yet your fifteen year old sisters can?"

"I-I was born d-defective."

"Uh-huh." She doesn't seem particularly convinced.

Odin only sighs in response, restarting the truck.

 

Two hours later, Ava sat beside her new werewolf friend in the waiting room of Heart Hospital. Every now and then the lights would flicker and the tv would be reduced to static. As many complaints as they’d gotten, it was always the same. It was far more depressing and dreary than any other hospital she’d been to. They didn’t even seem to try and hide the fact that people came here to die half of the time.

She sunk into the seat beside Odin, flipping through some celebrity magazine with impatience. She couldn't even remember what test result they were currently waiting on, several already having come back clean.

"What are we even waiting on again...? They already did the blood count. Isn't that enough?"

"N-no. T-there are a f-few more left."

"Uugghh... Haven't we been here long enough?"

"We've been here f-for... T-two hours, tops." His eyes move from his watch back to her, looking back at her irritably. He’d practically lived in this waiting room before, and he wasn’t going to complain about a mere two hour wait now.

"Y-you're t-the one who insisted on coming. Y-you could've b-been w-wherever it is y-you and the w-witch u-usally are."

"... Do you think I'm her pet or something? I'm not always with her... I probably would've been at school." She grumbles, scratching at a perfume ad.

Spotting something out of the corner of his eye Odin ignores her response. He removes himself from his chair slowly, walking towards a magazine loaded coffee table at the other side of the room.

Ava sits up, blinking as he moves. "What are you doing?"

Pushing aside a few antique editions of house and home, he pulled a blue, plastic-bound book from the pile. There's several more beneath it, each with the same odd shade of indigo on the cover. It reminded her of a hospital she’d been to years ago, after the death of parents. The memory had faded long ago, and she could barely remember anything about it. However, that specific shade of blue remained in her memory. It brought back the hum of machines, and clean white tile. Despite being a hospital, Ava had always felt as though she’d really been in some kind of lab.

"TITAN" was printed in crisp white lettering on the front, imprinted into the plastic.

He promptly grabs the rest of them, dropping them into a nearby tissue filled trash can. A nurse looks up from her station, but doesn't seem to care much.

"You don't seem to like Titan much, huh."

"N-no, I d-don't."

"You and the witch have something in common then."

"W-what? S-scared she's g-gonna run o-out of blood sacrifaces if Titan converts t-the whole town?"

"Probably."

Both of them laughed at that, their poorly stifled giggles hidden by the drone of the television.

With the air lightened, the conversation took a different turn.

"S-so if I-I'm a r-reaper, w-what are you? A f-firefly?"

"Ha-ha. I'm a Pheonix, thank you very much."

"A w-what?"

"You heard me. You know, the flaming birds."

"... T-then, w-why aren't you, y-you know... A F-flaming bird?"

"I don't know. Why aren't you a skeleton?"

"T-touche."

"I-is W-Wrathia one too..?"

"No... Yes, sort of... I don't know her exact species, but she has enough magic to be one. A phoenix, I mean."

"She's not y-your mom, then?"

"Ew, no. She's my aunt."

"T-then...?"

"Phoenixes are born in families, but the gene is erratic. It always skips at least ten generations or something. Wrathia's some kind of mutation from that gene, I think. I dunno."

"O-oh."

Ava nods in response, looking up to see Magpie enter the room behind an ecstatic looking doctor.

"The rest of the results won't be in for a week or so, but so far... It seems to be a miracle, Mr. Arrow. She has a clean bill of health."

Immediately Odin seems to be relieved, letting out a sigh she didn't realize he was holding. He starts putting his faded black jacket on, only to look over at Ava who was only wearing a light sweater. Without saying a word, he drops it over her shoulders, proceeding to hand Magpie her own jacket.

"Won't you need this, though? And I have a sweater..." Okay, it isn't much of a sweater. She accidently sat her good one on fire last week, and Wrathia hadn't been too pleased. Something about it being the fifth sweater in a month, and that she'd have to wait for the fire-proof ones that she was supposed to have ordered years ago that were just on back order.

She was never getting a new sweater, she guessed.

"D-didn't you know? I-I can't... R-really feel the cold anymore."

"... Still."

"J-just t-take it. Y-you probably get colder t-than I do."

"Fine... Thanks." Her gruff thank you was made to his back as they headed towards the parking lot after Magpie had been checked out.

 

 Standing beside the car door as Magpie crawled in to the rusted chevy, Ava's eyes wandered over the parking lot. It was fairly busy today, or at least appeared to be. It was an oddly small hospital, so the parking lot wasn't too large either. What actually made her look was the small glimpse of metallic purple she'd seen across the third row. The small girl was fairly certain there was only one person in this town who drive a car with such a color, and that was her aunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted super quick... Going to work soon. Sorry for any mistakes.


	4. Dearest, most vile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to include some wrathful pride backstory. It'll be more in detail later, whether through back stories or another chapter interruption like this one. Warning for uh, underage implications? Sort of?

Wrathia Bellarmina was a walking train wreck, and Pedri loved her with every fiber of his pathetic, undead being.

Like most romances start, he met the girl in high school.   
Her parents had apparently died when she was young in some kind of fire, and since then, she had been tossed between foster homes like a hot potato.  
No one seemed to want to hold on to her for long despite her record of perfect academics and utter perfection in any athletic program she was put in.   
Maybe it was her fashion choice, seeing as she enjoyed smearing herself in dark hued lip sticks and torn leather. Everything she wore screamed mature and appeared intimidating. Low cut and scandalous, rumors just seemed to manifest in thin air around Bellarmina. Maybe that was it.  
Or maybe it was her bitter, sarcastic remarks that she made to anyone who dared to speak to her out of turn. How she carried herself with confidence and only hung around people who were scared of her.   
She skipped most of her classes and spent most of her time on the roof, smoking some kind of flower. Of course, she still passed all of her classes with flying colors.   
He wouldn't have even known she'd existed if she hadn't been introduced to his class in the middle of the year, her irritated gaze fixed on the back of the class room as the teacher attempted to pronounce her name to the class.  
She wore so much make up he couldn't tell if she was older than younger than himself. It wasn't until some time later he learned that she'd skipped three grades, so her age had remained anonymous to him until he'd become her acquaintance.   
Pedri didn't formally meet her until his junior year, sitting outside of the principal's office for something he couldn't remember anymore. Just that the girl sitting beside him was playing with an expensive looking metal lighter, and that she somehow ended up setting the papers he had in hand on fire.  
A week later he had learned the following things about Wrathia Bellarmina:

**1**. She'd gone through eight different boyfriends since transferring to this school.

**2**. Tuls firmly believed she was the devil.

**3**. She smoked some flower called, 'Florem Mortem' (He couldn't lie, he kind of liked the name.)

**4**. She was none other than the town pyromaniac, responsible for a dozen torched cars and a hand full of old houses + an abandoned convenience store.

**5**. She had piercings in places he shouldn't think about in public. (he did, naturally. especially since she winked at him when she said it.)

**6**. Witchcraft was an academic that not many knew she excelled in.

and,

**7**. Like a third of the town's population, and himself, Wrathia Bellarmina wasn't entirely human.

The summer before senior year was one spent with her beside him.  
Standing ankle deep inside of a creek, blood running downstream as he tore the skin off of a dead wolf they'd pulled from the road side.  
The memory of her wiping away the blood on his cheek with her thumb, her Cheshire grin and the nights he spent wondering just where that piercing was.  
When he did sleep, the dreams were never pleasant.  
He'd wake up from nightmares with her tapping on his window, grinning ear to ear as she held up a new carcus to burn.  
At some point he was convinced he'd had nightmares of every single kind, so many he couldn't list the categories on hand.  
There was one he hadn't thought of, though.  
The nightmare he created when he left Bellarmina after graduation.   
He'd never been so scared in his life, honestly. Never seen her turn her venomous rage against himself, never thought he'd know something so beautiful.  
Their first kiss was after she'd stabbed him eight times in the throat.


	5. That Which We Recognize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can we know anything, when we hardly recognize ourselves?

"Excuse me? Have you seen Ava?"  
"Yes, and she's growing up to be a fine young lady."  
"Look at her. She has anxiety."  
"So do most teenagers."  
"I gave her a loaded gun when she told me kids were bullying her at school."  
"... But you know better now, don't you?"  
"Did you know I hit Pedri recently?"  
"I know that he liked it."  
"I purposely run over sqirrels when Ava's in the car."  
"As long as it's not children, it can't be too bad."  
"I almost ran over her friend... Erm.. Maggots, I think, as a joke once."  
"Maggie, you mean. So? She's fine now, isn't she?"  


Wrathia groaned, pressing her forehead up against her palm as she shifted on the metal stool in Nevy's office.   
Her long time friend had been working at the local hospital for years now despite everything against it. She'd gotten dozens of job offers elsewhere, but she remained in their small town.   
The mermaid was one of the only three in town qaulified to treat non-human patients, one being Wrathia herself, and the other only being in town during the weekends.   
This wasn't mentioning that most people wouldn't dare come to the town heretic for treatment unless it was for something life-threatening or magic related. Wrathia just didn't have the patience for it otherwise; something she made sure they were aware of by the time they left.

  
"I'm going to kill it."  
"Wrathia, how could you ever kill such a gift?... Even if Pedri made it..."

  
Nevy added the last part underneath her breath, pushing some paperwork to the side so she could lean across the table.  
She reached for one of Wrathia's hands, grasping it between her own. It surged with heat, like flames licked just beneath the surface. Lacing her fingers with Wrathia's, she smiled as if she was speaking to a young child. Her dear friend fidgeted uncomfortably in response, her expression almost souring.  


"Even if I don't kill it now, it's going to die anyhow. I'll probably put it in the oven... Cook it up and serve it to Pedri himself."  
She laughs nervously, running her free hand through her scarlet hair; fingers running wearily over her scalp.   


Nevy squeezes her hand, increasing the strength in her grip as though it might pull her friend together where the seams had split apart.  
"That's not something to joke about, Wrathia."  
"I wasn't joking. I'm not stupid. I'm not unaware. I know how I am. I don't even know how Pedri deals with me, much less you. I don't even know why you try. If anything, it's a bad decision on your part --Both of your parts."  
She attempts to remove her hand from Nevy's grip, but fails. Her mermaid friend only holds it tighter, almost painfully.  


"Wrathia, I know you're scared."   
"Excuse me? Scared? I'm not afraid of anything, thank you very much." She finally manages to rip her hand from Nevy's, standing from her chair so abruptly she nearly trips over herself somehow. Her form is rigid and agitated, but lacking in confidence.   


"I want you to think about this. About what you're going to throw away."  
"Yeah, well it's fucking mine to throw away. If anything, i'm doing it a favor."  


That was all she said before stepping outside of her friend's office, letting the door swing shut behind her. A few people stopped to look, but just as quickly their heads turned away. Wrathia Bellarmina slamming doors was a daily occurance. She'd only made it a few quick steps when she abruptly stopped in the middle of the hallway, bringing her hand over her face and dragging it upward from the tip of her nose before her palm rested on her forehead.   
This was stupid. This was weak, and things were spiraling out of control. Pedri would definitely leave her, wouldn't he? What business did he have with some weak woman and a bastard child?   
And then, then she'd definitely have to kill him. Except he was already dead, which kind of ruined the sentiment. Why did he have to be so goddamn frustrating without even being in the room?  
To make thing even fucking worse, she felt herself hesitating to kill him. Why, she could remember stabbing him a few dozen times only some years prior.   
Her thoughts were interrupted when a rather irritated person stopped in front of her. Their darkly colored hair was neatly combed and cut short, matching their equally as prim and proper attire.  
They crossed their arms, clearing their throat for probably the third time.  


"Excuse me, Ms. Bellarmina, was it? Not all of us have time to wait for you to cry it out in the hallway. Some of us have professional business to attend to, you realize."   
The person speaking crossed their arms, tapping their fingers as they waited for the woman in front of them to reply. When she didn't, they continued their dialogue.  
"If you're finally having a mental break down from living in the woods in squalor all this time, consider coming to church this sunday. We might be able to... Clean you up. Maybe your hair isn't such a garrish color once you wash it."  


Their pleased smiled faltered when the woman still didn't reply. Not sure how to continue otherwise, they side stepped and began to walk away. However, a finely manicured hand caught their shoulder.  


"Six, was it?" Wrathia asked, her voice oddly light.  
"I'm surprised you managed to remember considering you dropped out of high school."  
"Ah, I see you went to the trouble of investigating my background? I'm surprised you have the spare time to do that when you're not masturbating to the image of that metal covered cyclops you call a god."  


The hands of Wrathia's opponent dropped to their sides, balling into fists. Nearly all of the blood in Six's body rushed to their face.  
"T-that's an awfully out-landish and hyprocritical lie for you to tell considering how many times you've been arrested for public indecency with that fiendish necrophile you drag around-"  
"Jealous I don't have to make do with a copy of the blue bible and a vibrator in the shape of a 'T'?"  
"I---I- These are very, very inappropriate accusations, you-- you,"  
"What, whore? Slut? Bitch? Trailer trash?"  
Wrathia leaned in close to Six's face, her hand still firmly planted on their shoulder.  
"Monster?" She blew a stray lock of dark blue hair out of Six's face, removing her hand from their shoulder.

"See you later, rat."  


Outside, snow flakes drifted from the clouded sky on to the icey pavement below. As usual the entire town seemed to be dreary and dead, remaining stagnant despite it's contents.  
The somber atmosphere had no affect on the vexed Bellarmina, and it only seemed to grate her nerves even further. She herself didn't understand while she was so... Exasperated, if that was the proper term.   
Much to Ava's misfortune, she had decided to leave the company of her new werewolf companions in favor of waiting for her aunt to return. She wasn't too concerned that her aunt was at the hospital, the most likely option being that Wrathia was visiting with her close friend Nevy.   
It probably wasn't the best idea, but that mostly depended on the mood of the person in question. She sighed audibly, her carmine eyes scanning over the front of the hospital as she waited for her only living relative to exit. She fiddled with the ends of her wool dress and went to adjust her jacket, only to be reminded that it wasn't her's.  
It was Odin Arrow's.  


He was an odd sort, wasn't he? She couldn't find a place to put him in. He cared for sisters enough to give up his own life, hated Titan incorporated almost as much as Wrathia did, and apparently was some sort of malfunctioning werewolf. She couldn't find a way to fit him together in a fashion that made sense, and to say the least, her interest was piqued.   
Noticing a slight scent, Ava pulled the collar up to her nose for closer inspection.  
Smoke. Floral mixed with ash-- one that was easily recognizable to Ava. It was something her aunt smoked, the supernaturals' own brand of weed. At least that's what the tiny phoenix assumed it was. It wasn't as though she had any other ideas about it other than the way it clung to clothing.  
The door across from her’s, more specifically the driver’s side, abruptly ripped open. Ava flinched as it slammed shut, her owlish red eyes glancing to the woman now seated beside her. She seemed… Unhinged. Not that it wasn't normal for her aunt, but now it seemed.. Worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's only been what, like, two years??? fun fact, i had this much done like four months ago, i just didn't post it. Wuteve. Sorry for disappearing into the void for a bit. Hope this chap is okay?? Not as long as I wanted it to be, but it'll do. I have another fic in the works, too so... Hope the cliche drama is okay. Thanks for reading! I'm replying to comments right after I post this lol.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try and make the next chapters longer. Try, being the key word.


End file.
